Freshman goalie Ryan Kern was one of the stars of Navy's impressive 10-6 upset of archrival Army on Saturday. Kern recorded a career-high 17 saves, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as the Midshipmen held the Black Knights scoreless for the final 18:32 and closed the contest on a 7-0 run.

Afterward, Navy head coach Rick Sowell said it has been "well documented" what Kern has been through this season. That is not exactly the case. Unbeknownst to anyone in the media as well as most fans, Kern has been battling a painful foot injury since the season opener against Johns Hopkins.

Kern has gone through some ups and downs this season, giving up a total of 30 goals in losses to Hopkins and Maryland then turning around and making 14 saves to anchor an 11-5 victory over Delaware.

Kern stopped just one shot and allowed six goals before getting pulled early in the second quarter of an eventual 18-7 loss to Loyola. The Middletown, Delaware resident responded with a strong outing against Dartmouth, notching 10 saves and allowing only six goals to backstop an 11-6 victory.

Kern reserved his finest performance of the season for the most important game, catching fire at crunch time and refusing to give up another goal after Army had taken a 6-3 lead with 3 ½ minutes remaining in the third quarter.

"Very, very impressive," Sowell said of Kern's effort. "I said to Ryan early in the week, 'I need double-digit saves. I don't care how you do it, just give me double-digit saves.' He said 'I got it coach,' and boy did he come through."

That is when Sowell revealed that his rookie goalie has been battling a debilitating injury the entire season.

"I'm just so proud of him. He's hung in there and has not complained, even though I'm sure there were days when it was really difficult," Sowell said. "To do what he did today against the opponent we played, that's going to be a special memory that he'll have for a long time."

Sowell believes Kern has a bright future and said the Salesianum School product will continue to get better and better.

"You all haven't seen the best of him. He's just getting going," Sowell said.

NO TOMORROW: No extra motivation is needed when Army and Navy get together in any sport. That being said, the Midshipmen had plenty going into Saturday's men's lacrosse showdown with the archrival.

It was Senior Day in Annapolis with the Class of 2017 members being honored during an emotional pre-game ceremony. For such standout seniors as Chris Fennell, Matt Rees, John Trainer and Brady Dove, it was last time they would take the artificial turf at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Adding more fuel to the fire was the fact Navy needed a win in order to secure a berth in the Patriot League Tournament. A loss might well have been season-ending for the Midshipmen. Which is why Col. Stephen Liszewski, the Commandant of Midshipmen, came into the Navy locker room before the game and told the players to "empty the tank."

Fennell, one of Navy's co-captains, also made sure the troops understood the magnitude of the moment.

"When we came out for stretching, I told everyone to look around and soak it in," said Fennell, a two-time All-American as a close defenseman. "No matter what happened, this was the last time these 50 guys were going to play together on that field. Just kind of embrace it."

Fennell, Dove, Rees and Trainor – all of whom have seen significant action since they were freshmen – were playing in their sixth Army-Navy game. For Kern and sophomore attackman Ryan Wade, it was their first chance to experience with the rivalry.

Someone asked Kern and Wade afterward what it was like to play in the Army-Navy game. Fennell answered that question for the two youngsters, stating that "it's mentally and physically exhausting."

BLESSING IN DISGUISE: If you had asked Sowell at the beginning of the season about Navy having a bye on the final weekend of the regular season, you would not have received a positive response.

The sixth-year head coach didn't initially like the idea of not playing next weekend, but has now changed his tune based off current circumstances. Navy clinched a berth in the Patriot League Tournament with Saturday's win and will have 10 days off before playing a quarterfinal on April 25.

"Now that things have unfolded the way they have, this is awesome for us. We get a chance to kind of exhale and continue to get healthier. I think we're in a pretty good situation right now," Sowell said. "We've won four of our last five. We're on a roll. We head into the playoffs with a lot of confidence."

DEFENSIVE STRUGGLE: Army came into Saturday's contest with the nation's second-ranked defense. Goalie AJ Barretto anchored a unit that was allowing just over seven goals per game.

The Black Knights basically lived up to their reputation, limiting the Midshipmen to eight goals when playing conventional defense. Navy scored two goals into an empty net over the final 1:20 after Army pulled the goalie in order to double-team the ball.

However, Navy's defense was even better on this day — holding Army six goals below its season average. The Midshipmen struggled on defense early in the season, but have begun to find their stride down the stretch.

Navy was ranked 29th nationally in scoring defense, giving up an average of 9.75 goals. That was not expected of a senior-laden unit led by a pair of All-Americans in Fennell and Rees along with a standout short stick defensive midfielder in Trainor. The Midshipmen regained a measure of respect with their performance against the Black Knights.

"We have a ton of respect for Coach Alberici along with the defensive coordinator and the team they put out on the field. In a game like this, it doesn't matter about statistics or where you're ranked nationally," Fennell said. "We don't need the ranking to know that we have a good defense. We know the type of players we have on that end of the field."

MARQUEE MATCHUPS: There were several games within a game on Saturday, beginning with the faceoff battle between Dove and Army's Dan Grabher.

Grabher was winning the duel for the better part of three quarters, but Dove turned it up a notch and captured eight of the last 11 draws to key Navy's comeback. Army head coach Joe Alberici thought the Kent Island High graduate did a great job of anticipating the whistle down the stretch.

Dove is already Navy's career leader in faceoff wins and is moving up the Patriot League's all-time chart. The Stevensville resident now has 626 career wins, trailing former Colgate great Chris Eck (664, 2005-2008) and current Loyola standout Graham Savio (663).

Meanwhile, Fennell has enjoyed a terrific one-on-one rivalry with Army attackman Cole Johnson, who managed only one goal on just three shots on Saturday. Johnson's only goal came after a switch that found him being covered by Trainor, the short stick.

There is another budding rivalry building between Wade and Army close defenseman Johnny Surdick. Those two sophomores first met while attending prep school and renewed acquaintances on Saturday.

Wade used a slight pick to blow past Surdick to score the goal that gave Navy an 8-6 lead with 3:19 remaining in the game. Surdick, an Odenton resident, was credited with one caused turnover and forced another by using his stick to obstruct the passing lane.

"Surdick and I had a couple battles at prep school. I tried to get him a couple times on an isolation and he stripped me once," Wade said. "We finally got a two-man going at X. Chris (Hill) got him hung up and I was able to get a step on him and bury it."

CLASS ACT: Alberici showed why he is considered one of the classiest head coaches in the business by having his players stand at attention along the sideline during the pre-game ceremony in which Navy's nine seniors were honored. The Black Knights respectfully applauded the group of seniors following the presentation.

"That's what we do all the time. We did it when we had a senior day with Bucknell. I want my guys to see it and appreciate it," Alberici said. "These are special kids at both academies. A Joe Alberici-coached program will always do that for the seniors from the other teams. I have a healthy respect for all the senior groups that come through here (Naval Academy). This one is an extremely accomplished one."